Friday, May 15, 2015

Strawberry Ricotta Cake


Cutting to the chase, let me tell you what this cake is good for:

•  It is good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in-between-meal snacks.
•  It is good alone, adorned with whipped cream, or as the major player in trifle.
•  It is good for entertaining a crowd.
•  It is good for compliments on its beauty.

Continuing, let me zero-in on this cake's taste:

•  It is super moist...akin to a pudding cake is how my husband described it.
•  It is rich due to ricotta cheese and butter at its foundation.
•  It is not overly sweet.
•  It is well-supported by the occasional soft, juicy bits of fruit.


Notes

1.  This cake requires nothing more than itself on a dessert plate.  It is beautiful, tasteful, and can serve many purposes.

2.  I switched the fruit to strawberries because that is what I had; however, the next time I make this recipe, I will add more fruit.  The mentor recipe calls for 1 cup, but the sideview showed very little fruit and it was on the bottom.  Next time,  I will toss the fruit with a bit of the flour first for better suspension.

3.  I used salted butter and fresh strawberries.

4.   I used a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom because I wanted the fluted edge for appearances.  See what it did to the perimeter?  (Applause!)

5.  I ended up having to cover the top with aluminum foil about 30 minutes in so that the cake would not be too dark.  Wait until you have a crust on top so that the foil doesn't stick.


Strawberry Ricotta Cake
(mentor recipe here)

Nonstick vegetable spray
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 and 1/2 cups ricotta
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
1 cup of fresh strawberries, cut to small/medium pieces, divided


Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350º F.
2.  Coat tart pan with nonstick vegetable spray.
3.  Whisk all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
4.  Whisk eggs, ricotta, and vanilla into a medium bowl until smooth.
5.  Scrape wet ingredients into dry ingredient bowl.  Blend with a spatula.
6.  Add melted butter.  Blend.
7.  Add 3/4 cup of the strawberries to the mixture and fold gently.


8.  Scrape batter into the prepared pan.  Smooth top with spatula.
9.  Scatter remaining 1/4 cup berries on the top.


10.  Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.  Use aluminum foil if necessary (see Notes).
11.  Let cake cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding.
12.  Leftover cake can be wrapped tightly with saran and kept at room temperature for a few days or frozen.


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